DIY Beauty

DIY Beauty – it has become my rage lately. It all started with my bakery job.

Over the summer, I had taken an extra job in order to save up for a new car. I was already working in a salon as a secretary. I knew with my Adobe subscription, I would go a long way before I could actually get a car. Hence the bakery job.

I wore shorts, my hair up, and nasty t-shirts. I would work from eight in the morning to twelve. Stepping on bread crumbs, the humid air, elbow deep in cookie dough and washing dishes covered me in a layer of grime everyday. I would shower immediately when I got home but I started to feel like I wasn’t getting the best clean I desired. I started to crave some intense scrubbing. A sea salt scrub came to mind and I googled it because I assumed it was rather easy to make. It ended up being very easy and inexpensive. Not long after, with the oil and Epsom salt in hand, I make my first ever concoction. I added my favorite smell duo, peppermint and lemon, and it gave me the desired exfoliating experience. It became an addiction. It began to stir something inside of me that now I feel every time I come across another DIY beauty product.

As always, my research method was to go to my local library and find some books on the idea of green beauty. My first read was The Green Beauty Guide by Julie Gabriel. She mostly discusses in the first chapter about how a lot of the materials used in beauty products today are hazardous and are harmful in the long run. That’s not what scared me away from everyday mass produced products though. Gabriel really got to me when she described how our skin eats, too. Would I stick these chemicals in my mouth? Why would I feel my skin with them? No freakin way. This led me to immerse myself in the recipes she created. There were concoctions such as Yummy Mummy Oatmeal Cleanser and Green Tibet Bath Salt.

I have always loved making things with my hands. Ever since I was a little girl, I hoarded ribbons and old frames because I would make crafts out of them. Living the cleaner side of life has also been a passion of mine. Knowing that the these products that I made were handcrafted was an incredible experience. It was the same feeling I got when I saw the cookies and painted pies I made for my bakery job lined up on shelves that made me feel the same way. Nothing beats the quality of a product made by your own two hands.

Now, I write down most of the DIY recipes I come by – and they are not just exclusive to beauty but home and life hacks. Here is my personal recipe for my favorite salt scrub:

Winter in the Summer Scrub

Ingred.

1 cup Epsom salt

1/3 cup grape seed oil

2 drops of peppermint essential oil

4 drops lemon essential oil

2 drops lime essential oil

lemon zest (optional)

Instructions

Let’s create the base first – combine the cup of salt and oil together in a big bowl (preferably glass so your plastic doesn’t get ruined by the oil and salt.

Combine the essential oils.

If you want, some lemon zest keeps the lemon tangible in your mixture.

My final thoughts on this recipe is that if you add lemon zest, I wouldn’t recommend using it for your face but just your body. It can be pretty abrasive just with the salt – your face skin is very delicate and it stings like hell. When you wash yourself with it, do not use your hands. It will dry them out. I use a wash cloth and it appears to dissolve better and you don’t waste so much. My last word of advice is not to store it straight in your shower because a moist area encourages the essential oils to evaporate faster. If you think about it, these ingredients are natural and most likely to decompose whereas your body wash seems to last a really long time wherever it is at.